Week Ending July 7, 2013. Songs: The Actress In The Top 10

Paul Grein

Chart Watch (NEW)July 10, 2013

Many recording artists go their entire careers without landing a top 10 hit on the Hot 100. So imagine how they must feel when they hear that a movie and stage actress who has never recorded an album of her own zooms into the top 10 on this week’s Hot 100. I’m talking about the multi-talented Anna Kendrick, whose “Cups (Pitch Perfect’s When I’m Gone)” jumps from #13 to #10. Kendrick’s little ditty, from the box-office hit Pitch Perfect, has sold 1,484,000 copies to date.

Kendrick, 27, is best known for her roles in Up In The Air (for which she received an Oscar nomination), 50/50, Pitch Perfect and five Twilight movies. She has also appeared on Broadway. In 1998, when she was just 12, she received a Tony nomination for her supporting role in a stage adaptation of Cole Porter’sHigh Society.

“Cups” is derived from an old folk song, “When I’m Gone,” which was recorded in 1931 by the Carter Family. (A.P. Carter, a founding member of that legendary country trio, is credited among the writers of “Cups.”) That old song was turned into “Cups (You’re Gonna Miss Me)” by the English band Lulu and the Lampshades.

“Cups” runs just 1:17 on the Pitch Perfect soundtrack. The song was expanded to 2:07 for the single version. That’s short, but it’s not the shortest top 10 hit of the “rock era.” That distinction is held by Hayley Mills’ “Let’s Get Together,” which she sang in the Disney movie The Parent Trap. The song, which reached #8 in October 1961, ran just 1:28.

The Pitch Perfect soundtrack has sold 772K copies.

“Cups” cracks the top 10 in its 28th week on the Hot 100. Billboard’s Gary Trust reports that only three songs by female solo artists have taken longer to crack the top 10: Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” (38 weeks) and a pair of hits by Faith Hill—“This Kiss” (30 weeks) and “The Way You Love Me” (29 weeks).

Kendrick is the second artist with that surname to crack the top 20. Eddie Kendrick was featured along with former Temptations band-mate David Ruffin on Daryl Hall & John Oates’ remake of a pair of Temptations classics in 1985. Before you bombard me with emails saying the man’s name was Eddie Kendricks, let me tell you that on that record (and on two others he recorded with Ruffin that made the R&B chart), it was just plain Kendrick.

Pharrell Williams is featured on the top two songs on the Hot 100 for the fourth straight week. Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” (which also features T.I.) is #1 for the fifth week. Daft Punk’s Get Lucky” logs its fourth week at #2. Williams is one of only eight artists in the rock era to hold down the top two spots for four or more weeks. He follows The Beatles (10 weeks in 1964), Bee Gees (five weeks in 1978), Ashanti (five weeks in 2002), Nelly (four weeks in 2002), OutKast (eight weeks in 2003-2004), T.I. (six non-consecutive weeks in 2008) and Black Eyed Peas (four weeks in 2009).

The very busy Pharrell is also featured on 2 Chainz’s “Feds Watching,” which is the week’s second highest new entry at #67. (Details below.)

Pharrell has had six top 10 hits on the Hot 100, but only one on which he has been in the lead role. That song was called (appropriately) “Frontin.’” The song, which featured Jay-Z, reached #5 in September 2003. Pharrell has also been featured on two top 10 hits by Snoop Dogg and on one each by Ludacris, Thicke and Daft Punk.

Pharrell, who produced “Blurred Lines,” may well wind up with a Grammy nomination for Producer of the Year. He and his partner Chad Hugo (as the Neptunes) won that award for 2003. They were nominated again for 2005.

“Blurred Lines” becomes just the second song in digital history to top 400K in weekly sales three times. It follows “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye featuring Kimbra, which achieved the feat in April 2012. (Am I splitting hairs to point out that “Blurred Lines” is the first song in digital history to post weekly sales above 420K three times?)

“Blurred Lines” moves up to #1 on Hot 100 Airplay, displacing Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors,” which logged seven weeks on top of that chart. In addition, “Blurred Lines” is #1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for the fifth week.

“Get Lucky” leads Dance/Electronic Songs for an eighth week. This ties Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” for the longest run at #1 on that chart since it was introduced in January.

Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” holds at #4 for the second week. It’s #1 on Rock Songs for the 16th week.

“Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly rebounds from #6 to #5. The song has sold 3,304,000 copies so far this year. If it doesn’t sell another copy (which is highly unlikely), it has already set a new record as the country song that has sold the most digital copies in a calendar year. The old record was held by Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now,” which sold 3,182,000 copies in 2010.

“Cruise” is #1 on Hot Country Songs for the 19th week. It’s the first song to spend 19 weeks at #1 on this chart since Leroy Van Dyke’s “Walk On By” achieved the feat in 1961-1962. (That’s not the subsequent Burt Bacharach/Hal David song.). “Cruise” is the longest-running #1 by a group or duo ever.

Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 songs.

The Top Five: “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell holds at #1 for the fifth week in its 12th week on the chart. This is its sixth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #1 (423K)…“Get Lucky” by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams holds at #2 for the fourth week in its 12th week on the chart. This is its eighth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #5 (179K)… Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” holds at #3 for the second week in its fifth week on the chart. This is its third week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #2 (210K)…Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” holds at #4 for the second week in its 45th week on the chart. This is its 12th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #4 (184K). “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly rebounds from #6 to #5 in its 40th week on the chart. This is its 11th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #3 (193K).

The Second Five: “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton dips from #5 to #6 in its 22nd week on the chart. This is its 14th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #7 (130K)…Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors” holds at #7 for the third week in its 21st week on the chart. This is its 13th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #16 (83K)…Bruno Mars’ “Treasure” holds at #8 for the third week in its eighth week on the chart. This is its third week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #6 (144K)…Selena Gomez’s “Come & Get It” holds at #9 for the third week in its 13th week on the chart. This is its ninth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #10 (101K)… Anna Kendrick’s “Cups (Pitch Perfect’s When I’m Gone)” jumps from #13 to #10 in its 28th week. It’s her first top 10 hit. Digital sales rank: #8 (117K).

“The Way” by Ariana Grande featuring Mac Miller drops from #10 to #12, ending a four-week run in the top 10.

“Clarity” by Zedd featuring Foxes jumps from #14 to #13 in its 16th week. The song tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week.

“Same Love” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert jumps from #16 to #14 in its 17th week. The song tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week. Digital sales rank: #9 (114K). Mary Lambert is vying to become the second artist with that surname to crack the top 10. Adam Lambert reached #10 in May 2010 with “Whataya Want From Me.” Both artists are openly gay. (What are the odds?)

Maroon5’s “Love Somebody” jumps from #18 to #15 in its seventh week…Fall Out Boy’s “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark,” which peaked at #13, drops from #15 to #18 in its 22nd week. The song tops the 2 million mark in digital sales. It’s the group’s fourth song to hit this threshold, following “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” (2,535,000), “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs” (2,405,000) and “Dance, Dance” (2,170,000).

“Power Trip” by J. Cole featuring Miguel jumps from #21 to #19 in its 21st week. J. Cole’s “Crooked Smile” (featuring TLC) jumps from #66 to #58 in its third week. Both songs are from his album Born Sinner, which has sold more copies over the past three weeks than Kanye West’s more-heralded Yeezus…“I Need Your Love” by Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding jumps from #23 to #20 in its 12th week.

Ciara’s “Body Party” jumps from #34 to #25 in its 11th week. Her new “I’m Out” (featuring Nicki Minaj) is the week’s top new entry at #50. Both songs are from her album Ciara, which is expected to debut at #2 on next week’s Billboard 200 with first-week sales in the 55K range.

Phillip Phillips’ “Gone, Gone, Gone” dips from #31 to #33 in its 18th week. The song tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week. It’s the follow-up to “Home,” which has sold 4,637,000 copies. Phillips is the first American Idol winner to notch more than one million-seller since 2008 champ David Cook, who has also had two: “The Time Of My Life” (1,482,000) and “Light On” (1,166,000). Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are the leaders among Idol winners, with 12 digital million-sellers each. Jordin Sparks is next with four. Kris Allen has had one…Brett Eldredge’s “Don’t Ya” jumps from #45 to #39 in its seventh week.

“Feds Watching” by 2 Chainz featuring Pharrell is the week’s second highest new entry at #67. The timely and topical song is from 2 Chainz’ upcoming sophomore album, B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time, which is due Sept. 10. The title is an acronym for Based On A T.R.U. Story, which was the title of 2 Chainz’ debut album. That album debuted at #1 in August 2012.

Avicii’s “Wake Me Up!” jumps from #81 to #68 in its second week….Lee Brice’s “Parking Lot Party” jumps from #93 to #71 in its second week. (A nice jump, but I’ve got to think more people would rather go to Ciara’s “Body Party.”)

“Without Me” by Fantasia featuring Kelly Rowland & Missy Elliott debuts at #74. It’s from Side Effects Of You, which debuted and peaked at #2 on The Billboard 200 in April…“Play Hard” by David Guetta featuring Ne-Yo & Akon jumps from #99 to #88 in its sixth week. The song has already reached #64…“LoveHate Thing” by Wale featuring Sam Dew debuts at #89. It’s from Wale’s recent #1 album The Gifted…Lorde’s “Royals” debuts at #90. It’s from The Love Club EP. Lorde is a 16-year old female singer/songwriter from New Zealand.

“Headband” by B.o.B featuring 2 Chainz re-enters the chart at #98. The song has climbed as high as #65…Sheryl Crow’s “Easy” debuts at #99. It’s from her upcoming eighth studio album, Feels Like Home, which is due Sept. 10…Krewella’s “Live For The Night” debuts at #100. The group’s “Alive” reached #32 on the Hot 100.

Here are key songs that were boosted by the July 4 holiday, in descending order: Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The USA” (23K), Neil Diamond’s new “Freedom Song (They’ll Never Take Us Down)” (22K), Miley Cyrus’ “Party In The U.S.A.” (18K), Katy Perry’s “Firework” (14K), Toby Keith’s “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)” (12K) and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.” (12K).

Three music stars—trumpeter and A&M Records co-founder Herb Alpert, opera star Renee Fleming and New Orleans music legend Allen Toussaint are among the recipients of 2012 National Medals of the Arts. They’re scheduled to receive the honors from President Obama today (Wednesday) in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. Toussaint has written two #1 hits on the Hot 100, Ernie K-Doe’s “Mother-In-Law” and Glen Campbell’s “Southern Nights.” Alpert is the only artist to reach #1 with both a vocal hit (1968’s “This Guy’s In Love With You”) and an instrumental hit (1979’s “Rise”).